Oiler for locomotive-wheel flanges.



F. L. HOL-T.

OILER FOR`LOCOMOTIVE WHEEL FLANGES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 3. 1915. 1,175,264.

@broma/1j UNITED sTATEs rATnuToirurcn.

FRANK L. Home, or FALLS CITY, NEBRASKA.

OILER FOR LOCOMOTIVE-WHEEL-FLANGES.

Application aied November 3, 1915. serial Ne. 59,463.

T 0 all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRANK L. HoLT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Falls City, in the county of Richardson and State of Nebraska, have invented certain Vnew and useful Improvements in Oilers for Locomotive-Wheel Flanges, of which the followingis a specication.

This invention relates to appliances for oiling or lubricating the anges of Wheels of locomotives and the like, for the purpose of insuring smoother travel on curves, mak-k ing such .travel safer by diminishing chances of derailment, increasing tire mileage and reducing tire maintenance and diminishing Wear and tear on the rails at curves and on vswitches and frogs.

My-prime object is to produce a fluid pressure wheel flange oiler which can not freeze and be thereby rendered inoperative.

and which can be installed at low cost.

With these objects in view the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and organization as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood reference -is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1, is'a Vdiagrammatic elevation Y Vshowing the relation between a flange oiler y of the oiler.

embodying my invention and a wheel Vto be lubricated thereby. Fig. 2, is a full-sized central vertical section of the oiler. Fig. 3, is a horizontal section on the line III-III of Fig. 2. Fig. 4, is a horizontal section on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2. Fig. 5, is a section of a nozzle for the'oiler. Fig. 6, is a fragmentary perspective view of the valve same being provided with a piston chamber,

2, and a tubular .internally threadedlneck "3 .of smaller `diameter than `the piston' cham;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Fig. 7, is an inverted plan viewV 1 Patented m1211214, 1916.

ber. 4 indicates an oilreceiving chamber 55 at the lower end ofthe neck and on'e or more discharge passages.

Secured in the upper end of the piston* f I chamber isa collar 6, the same being shown as provided with holes 7, for the reception l oa device for screwing said .collar into or out of position, and screwed into the collar,l is a tubular plug 8. "5 Y. i V9 indicates a downwardlytapering tilbular valve seat plugestablishing communication between the interior of the neck 3 and Y the passage'or passages 5, the lower end of` the bore of said plug being enlargedror"N flared as at 10. W'ithin the chamber 4, said plug is formed with side cuts or openings 11 70 which intersect the bore of' thev plug, the lower sides ot' said cuts sloping upward soA as to produce knife-'edge valve seats 12, and in the plane of the chamber 4, the body is provided with perforated enlargements or i bosses13. Y Engaging the threads ofthe neck are eX-. ternally threaded nuts or collars 14 Aand 15, provided with radialA holes 16. whereby the nuts may be engaged'for adjustment pur- 30 poses. the neck being provided with an opening 17 through which a suitable rod or tool may be introduced forenga gement with'said i' holes to effect the adjustment of said nuts.`

yThese nuts or collars yare fitted in place by screwing them downward into the neck from the chamber 2 until theyf are accessible n through the opening 17. `A nut 18 is screwed into the upper end of the neck and a packing 19 is interposedrbetween said nut 90 i -and nut orcollar 14.'V -A packing 20 is also A interposed between nut 15 and the valve seat plug and guards against upward movement of said plug 9. Y

The body is provided with a steam inlet 21l communicating with the lower end of chamber 2, and fitting in saidchamber is a piston 22 provided with steam packing rings Y 23 engaging the wall of the chamber.. and also with. a Steam chamber 24 withV which 100 linlet 21 communicates` when the piston occupies its most depressed position; y l The piston is .provided with a `tubular stem 25 extendingslidablv through the plug '8. `the upper end of the here of said stem 105 being threaded at 26. and tting around said stem and bearing at its: opposite endsaffainst Y'the piston'and plug 8, is a'sprng 2l th@ same being under compression so that whenv unopposed it shall hold the piston in its most depressed position.

28 indicates a valve rod extending through lower extremity to a point above nut 18,-

and at the last-mentioned point provided with an opening 29 so that steam supplied through the inlet 21 is free to pass into said opening and down through the valve rod.

The upper end of the rod is externally threaded at 30 and engaged with the threads 26 of the piston stem,and at its upper extremity is formed with a head 3lV whereby it may be engaged with a wrench or other tool and turned to effect downward or upward movement 'of the valve rod, it being also under- I stood that movement of the piston likewise imparts reciprocatory movement to the valve rod. To guard against accidental movement of the valve rod, a lock nut 32 is mounted upon its threaded portion and engages the upper end ofthe stem of the piston. The lower end of the valve rod is providedat its outer side with one or more V- shaped kerfs 33, which kerfs lie wholly below the valve seats 12 when the piston is in its vmost depressed position, at which time the oiler is inoperative. l/Vhen steam is supplied to the piston chamber and raises the piston the valve rod is'elevated so as to bring the kerfs 33 into communication with theoil-receiving chamber 4, the oil is drawn by the force of' the steam down through the kerfs under the injective force of the steam,

and in order that in this action the oil may be thoroughlyy divided up into a fine spray 0r atomized, foraminous partitions Si 0ccupy the flared opening l() of the valve seat plug, being-stretched across in such manner that they do not -interfere with downward Aadjustment of the valve rod but will intercept and prevent oil from flowing down through the kerfs or leaking down around the valverodwhen in inoperative position without being subdivided at passage through said perforations.

AnyV convenient means may be employed for supporting the oiler ata convenient point with respect to the wheel or wheels to be oiled, that shown consists of a bracket 35, for attachment to the locomotive at a convenient point, a threaded plug 36, secured to the oiler and extending Ithrough the bracket, and a retaining nut 37 screwed onthe plug and engaging the bracket.

38 indicates a Vshort pipe secured to the oiler in communication with the inlet 21 4 thereof. and coupled in any suitable manner to the steam supply pipe39 leading from the throttle or its eouivalent, not shown.

i 401 .indicates anapil. supply lpipe screwed" into one of the apertured bosses communieating with chamber 4 and leading from a suitable' oil supply tank, not shown.. The

bosses'V are disposed at opposite sides sothat the supply pipe may be connected with the most convenient one, the other one beingY with passages 5, and 43 pipes leading from pipes 42 to the wheel flanges to be oiled or lubricated, eachy pipe 43 terminating in a` nozzle 44 which sets at an angle to the flange as shown in Fig. l, so that it shall discharge the lubricating fluid directly upon the flange and not upon the tread of the wheel where it would reduce the tractivefpower of the latten In practice it isvdesirable to use an oil containing a heavy asphaltum base, as 'the asphaltum will adhere to and coat the flange in a more satisfactory.mannerthan can be effected with a light oil.

Vith the parts arranged as shown, Vthe opening of the throttleresults inthe passage of steam into chamber 2 yand through the valve rod, the pressure thus produced in said chamber raising the piston and the `valve rod. until the kerfs 33'of the latter are opposite the valve openings ll. As thisoccurs the injective force ofthe steam issuing from the lower endofthe piston rod draws oil from the chamber l down through the kerfs where it mixes with and is atomized by the steam, this action being rendered more thorf` v ough as the expansion of the steam inthe flared end of the plug 8, compels the greater proportion of the oil to pass through the foraminous partitionsfi. The mixture'iof the steam and atomized oil as an oily vapor passes through the passage or passages 5 and the connections described, to the nozzle or nozzles 4:4, andis discharged thereby against the flange or flanges of the wheels to be oiled. The asphaltic basel of the oil adheres to the flange because it is of :such character that it has but little tendency to flow and also'because centrifugal force tends to effect its` outward flow toward the peripheryof the flange or flanges of the wheels'.

Vhen the throttle is closed` the spring 27 reseats the piston and cuts off the supply of oil by lowering the valve rod until its kerfs are below the voil chamber 4. It will thus be seen that if a gravity oil feed is employed, there canl be no escape of oil when the steam Vpressure is cut off.

If the engine is to3be used mainly for yard and switching purposes and hence operated under lightV steam pressure, the plug 8 will be partly unscrewed to relax thetension and reduce the resistance of the spring so that the piston may readily rise under reduced- Steee ereeeraaedefr-aa lineaire@ screwed farther home to increase the tension of the spring sutticiently to hold the piston stationary at its most depressed point of ady justment. The adjustment of the plug 8, may be such as to permit the piston to operate'under normal steam pressure on the'road or the light pressure ordinarily required for yard operations.

Should the oil tend to clog the valve openings ll, the upward movement of the rod 28,

incidental to the opening of the throttle will loosen the clogging matter,'it being apparent that the heat of the rod due to the flow of steam therethrough, will tend to soften clogging or coagulated oil and thus aid in keeping the valve openings 11 unobstructed. The fact, that the seats 12 are sharp or knife-edged, must also be given consideration, as such seats afford no support upon which clogging matter can find substantial support. Should steam leak past the throttle into chamber 2, it has free passage to the atmosphere and hence cannot condense and render the oiler inoperative.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a wheel `flange oiler embodying the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the objects of the invention, and while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that I reserve the right to make all changes falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1 claim 1. The combination with a steam supply and an oil supply, of a tubular plug, having an opening or openings communicating with said oil supply, a valve rod extending through the plug and normally closing said opening or openings thereof, and provided with a kerf or kerts below said opening or openings, .means to receive the pressure of steam to raise the rod until its kerf or kerfs communicate with the said opening or openings, and means for restoring the pressure-receiving means and rod to normal position when the steam pressure is cut ofi".

2. The combination with a steam supply and an oil supply, of a tubular plug, having an opening or openings communicating with said oil supply, a valve rod extending through the plug and normally closing said opening or openings thereof, and provided with a kerf or kerfs below said opening or openings, means to receive the pressure ot steam to raise the rod until its kerf or kerfs communicate with the said opening or openings', and a spring to restore the pressure-receiving means and rodv to normal position.

3. lThe combination with a steam ksupply and an oil supply, of a tubular plug, having an opening or openings communicating with .said oil supply, a valve rod extending through the plug and normally closing said y. opening or openings thereof, and provided opening in communication with the oil supply, and a flaring mouth, a foraminous partition insaid mouth, a valve rod extending through the plug and normally closing said opening and provided with a kerf, means Vto receive the pressure of steam to raise the rod to establish communication through said ker between said opening and flaring mouth of the tube, and means to return the parts to normal position when the steam supply is cut o.

5. The combinationwith a steam supply and an oil supply, of a tubular valve rod extending through the plug and provided with an external kerf at its lower end and adapted Jfor discharging steam at its lower end, and yielding means connected to said valve rod Vand adapted under pressure'of4 steam to raise said rod until its kerf estaboil supply, of 'a tubular plug having a vvalve isies comm iaio o l l un c t n between the o ening and mouth-ot the tubular plug.

6. The combination with a steam supply and an oil supplv, of a tubular plug having an opening in communication with the oil supply, a cylinder incommunication with the steam supply, a tubular rod in Ycommunication with the cylinder, and extending through the tubular plug and provided with an external kerf which is normally beyond the opening of the plug, a piston Vin the cylinder, connected to the said rod, and adapted to be raised by steam supplied to the cylinder, and a spring to return the piston to noropening in the neck, a nutadjustable in theY neck, accessible .forroperation through the opening in the side of the neck, for compressing one of said packings, upon the tubular plug, a pair of nuts adjustable in the neck for compressing the other packing, one of .said pair of nuts being accessible through said neck opening and the other through the vsteam chamber, a valve rod extending adjustablv through the stem of the piston, and nuts and packngs and said Valve plug and provided with an external kerf and an open ing in Commumoation with the steam cliamber below the valve, and closed above said opening, means to lock the rod against accidental adjustment, and a spring for holding the oston depressed with the kerf of the rod l i below the opening of 'the Valve-plug, when the steam supply is cut olf.

In testimony whereof, I ailx my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK L. HOLT. vWitnesses:

S. F. KISNER, W. G. DEGELOW.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C. 

